My Small World
by minixoxmya
Summary: Oneshot sequel to Fear and Fidelity. Showing Troy and Gabriella 10 years on.


**So this is a little oneshot sequel to Fear and Fidelity. I hope you all enjoy it and feel that it's a nice way to close the previous story. I feel like the song I have used for this story really represents what it's all about; you should definitely listen to it! I would also suggest that reading Fear and Fidelity before you read this is a good idea. **

~TG~

'_One, for starry nights, two, for candle lights and three, for long walks in the sun. _

_Four, for all the laughter, five, forever after, six, your smile is just the best. _

_Love is endless.' _Mozella – Love is endless

~TG~

Thirty eight year old Troy Bolton was sure that Kindergarten graduation had been created to destroy all fathers across America. As he sat in the audience filled with parents and small children, he gripped hold of his wife's hand tightly and tried desperately not to embarrass himself by crying.

Following the birth of their second daughter Matilda seven years previously, Troy had persuaded Gabriella that they would try for just one more and this time, he had convinced her, he was sure it would be a boy. However, at their birth of their third child their trusted obstetrician confirmed that the baby they had created was most definitely a girl.

And it was this baby girl that was stood up on stage, dressed in a tiny blue cap and gown and waving madly at her parents' who was causing Troy's eyes to well up. Six year old Megan Isabelle Bolton entered the world on a beautiful day in June. It had taken Troy and Gabriella several days to decide an appropriate name, as Troy had suggested throughout Gabriella's pregnancy they had only considered boys names, so the arrival of a third girl was wholly unplanned for. Having already named two girls with names beginning with M, Gabriella was less than keen for another but Troy convinced her that Megan would be a perfect addition to Maisie and Matilda…it had taken her several weeks to get used to it but after a while she couldn't imagine Megan being named anything different.

"You doing okay there Daddy?" Gabriella asked Troy, squeezing his hand lovingly as she watched him fight the tears. Their youngest daughter was top of her class, much like her mother had been, and the tears Troy was now shedding were tears of an overwhelming sense of pride he had for his girls.

Troy nodded his head calmly as he watched the line of children stepping forward one by one to introduce themselves before stating their aspirations for their futures. Troy took a deep breath as his youngest daughter took two small steps forwards and smiled brightly towards the crowd.

"My name is Megan Isabelle Bolton, I'm six years old and when I am big I want to be President of the United States of America" Megan spoke clearly and determinedly, politely curtseying before returning to her space in the line.

Gabriella smiled proudly at her daughter, blowing the tiny girl a kiss before she turned to her husband. Troy was sure that in any second he would collapse into a puddle on the floor, his perfect precious littlest baby girl just said she wanted to be President and right in that moment there was nothing else in the world that could make him more proud.

"Did you hear that Beautiful, President! She wants to be President! Not a princess or an actress…President!" Troy rambled to a giggling Gabriella, quickly turning into an embarrassing wreck as he watched the line of small children approach their teacher to receive their kindergarten diplomas.

A shrill giggle sounded from Gabriella's lap before Troy felt a small hand grab hold of his arm and pull it down firmly.

"Daddy you're so silly!" The little boy laughed wildly at his father, rolling around in his mother's lap and she tightened her hold on him to prevent him falling onto the hard floor.

Troy was no longer pay attention to the unknown children approaching centre stage, his eyes and his attention were now focused on the boy sat in his wife's lap. The two year and a half year old figure had sandy brown hair and bright blue eyes much like his father, but his dark skin was most definitely that of his mother.

Troy had had a good feeling about it this time, when Gabriella announced that she was unexpectedly pregnant for a fourth time, Troy just knew he was going to get a little boy. He loved his girls more than anything; sometimes it shocked him because he when he thought he couldn't possibly love them anymore, his love would grow even deeper.

When Gabriella finally gave birth to their fourth baby, after what seemed like an endless pregnancy, Troy had been overjoyed and overwhelmed to finally have a baby boy in their family. Gabriella had smiled endlessly in the days after the baby was born, Troy just couldn't get enough of the tiny boy and had trouble giving him to anybody else even for a few minutes.

They had debated names throughout the pregnancy but had never managed to settle on one. Gabriella had always been better at girls' names than boys' names, so she was hoping when she met their baby for the first time she would be inspired. She had been disappointment when the inspiration hadn't come to her, but as the hours passed and the more she observed Troy and the baby together, she decided it shouldn't be up to her.

She had offered up the name responsibility to Troy and relished in the vision of him as his face lit up. She knew he had always wanted a boy and she knew deep down inside there must have been a name he had always wanted to call his son.

"Toby…can we name him Toby?" He had asked, handing their son to Gabriella before perching on the side of the comfortable hospital bed, hoping that she would agree to his suggestion.

Gabriella had smiled, looked down at the tiny boy and nodded her head.

"I think Toby is perfect." She had whispered simply, allowing Troy to take the baby from her arms again and watching as Troy nestled him protectively in his sculpted yet comforting chest.

Troy was pulled back from his thoughts by Toby climbing from Gabriella's lap into his own. Troy doted on the girls; but the bond he had with Toby was special, they couldn't get enough of being together. Right from the moment he had been born Toby had been a Daddy's boy, he loved to play with Troy and eat with Troy, and he had even preferred taking baths with Troy over taking them with Gabriella…apparently taking a bath with Daddy consisted of much more fun and play than it did with Mommy.

"You okay there Buddy?" Troy asked Toby as he settled himself in Troy's lap, snuggling his head into his chest as his eyelids began to close.

The graduation ceremony would be over soon and they would be able to take Megan home and put them both down for a nap. Thankfully Maisie and Matilda didn't finish school for another three hours, which meant that Troy and Gabriella would get some much needed alone time.

"Toby Tired!" Toby spoke softly, lifting his thumb into his mouth and sucking it, a habit that Gabriella was desperately trying to break.

Troy chucked at his son, he couldn't believe how his life had turned out and as he looked around him at the other families in the room, he was sure he was the luckiest of all of the fathers in the room.

He often thought about Gabriella's attack, the 'what ifs' had never stopped crossing his mind and he was sure that was something that was never going to change. There were times, like Christmases and birthdays when his family was all together; that the realization that had things been different seemed to set in, he wouldn't have his children, his beautiful wife and the life they had made together.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Did you see me?" Six year old Megan ran up to her father excitedly, jumping up and down as she reached him to get his attention. Troy looked down at her and smiled, all three girls were just like Gabriella, they had her dark brown eyes and her long curly brown hair, and to Troy they were absolutely perfect.

He picked Megan up and lifted her above his head. Despite being six years old, she was much smaller than the other children her age, another trait she had inherited from her mother. He spun his daughter around in circles, bringing her back down towards him and kissing her face lovingly.

"Of course I saw you Princess; you did so well up there!" He told his overexcited daughter, getting lost in the sound of her ecstatic giggles as she wrapped her small arms around his neck and snuggled into him.

Gabriella had always admired the way Troy treated their children, she had never once questioned whether he would be a good father, but watching her children grow up with a father that she herself had missed out on gave her an incredible feeling of pride.

She had finally done something right with her life, and although her mother was no more loving and caring than she had been all those years previously, the knowledge that she cared so deeply for her own children was enough for her. She didn't need approval from her mother; she got everything she needed every time one of her four beautiful children told her they loved her, or drew a picture of her with 'Best Mommy in the world' spread colorfully across the page.

She smiled brightly at the scene before her and sighed happily, her life was more than she ever imagined it could be.

"Come on Daddy, let's get these two home before its time to pick up Munchkin and Monster." With that, she left with the love of the life and their two youngest children and headed back to the house that had been home for a very long time.

~TG~

Night had fallen over summery San Francisco; Troy had settled his children down into bed with a bedtime story each and was now finally tucked into the arms of his wife.

It was this time of the day that they spent their alone time together, with four active children there wasn't much time in the day to just be together, in each other's arms doing nothing but enjoying each other's company.

"Are you happy, Troy?" Gabriella broke their silence, asking Troy a question that not only puzzled herself but sent feelings of uncertainty, shock and confusion through Troy's body.

Troy racked his brain for any moment that may have signaled to Gabriella that he wasn't happy. He came up blank and was suddenly more worried about Gabriella's question than ever before.

"Where is this coming from Beautiful? I'm so incredibly happy Gabriella, if I was any happier there would be unicorns and stars and bunny rabbits following me around all day." Gabriella giggled at Troy's imaginative analogy; trust him to lighten a serious moment with something so humorous and creative.

Gabriella sighed, it was a question she had been thinking about a lot and she couldn't get the racing thoughts out of her mind. If he wasn't happy, would he tell her? Or would be just not come home one day? Or cheat on her with a younger more exciting woman?

"I had coffee with Mona on Monday; did you know she and Logan are filing for divorce?" Troy's eyes widened as he listened to Gabriella's words, he couldn't believe two close friends were having problems and they had had no idea.

Gabriella and Mona had been friends for nine years, they had first met in Gabriella's antenatal yoga class when she was pregnant with Maisie and had been incredibly close ever since. Mona and her husband Logan had been married just a year longer than Troy and Gabriella, and had already had a three year old daughter when Mona and Gabriella met.

Mona and Logan had always appeared to be a strong couple; they spent time together and were always affectionate with one another. Mona had been incredibly supportive of Logan and how much he had to travel with his job, and it had never occurred to Troy and Gabriella to question whether Logan was as supportive of Mona and her bumpy career as journalist.

"Sweetheart, have you been thinking about this since Monday?" Troy asked carefully, it was now Friday and Troy was wondering why it had taken Gabriella a whole five days to bring up the subject with him.

Gabriella nodded cautiously, knowing she shouldn't be questioning the amazing relationship she had with Troy but struggling to see past the fact that Logan had been such a good actor. How was she to know if Troy was doing the same?

"I just haven't stopped thinking about it, I'm sorry." Gabriella snuggled herself deeper into Troy's comforting embrace, burying her head into the crook of his neck and quickly finding the spot in which she was always most comfortable.

Tory wrapped his arm tightly around her waist; brushing his hand gently up and down her back, hoping to sooth the disturbing feelings that seemed to be running through her body.

"Everybody has different relationships Beautiful, what we have is incredible but not everybody can be that lucky. I've lived through someone trying their very hardest to take you from me, sitting in that ICU with you and knowing the only thing keeping you alive was machines and at the flick of a switch you could have been gone…I thought I had lost you and I vowed to make sure that never ever happened. Not every couple has been through what we have Baby. I don't think I can live without you, I know I can't live without you because I've been so close to it being a reality…" Gabriella was shocked by Troy's words, he had really thought about this and his words alone were enough to settle down the nerves and worries she had been having.

She tried not to think about what had happened all those years ago, the memories and feelings it stirred within her were emotions that made her uncomfortable, sad and confused. Before Maisie was born, Troy and Gabriella had discussed at length that it was a situation they didn't want discussed around the children. In fact, Gabriella had decided it was a situation she didn't want to discuss at all.

This very moment was the first time it had been mentioned for seven years, they briefly touched on things they had done together at that time but any talk of the ICU or Seth had been a firm no go area.

"I never knew you felt that way. I know at the time we had this conversation, but I had no idea it still affected you that way." Gabriella lifted her head and rested her chin on Troy's chest, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips as he settled back down into the pillow following his epic revelation of his feelings.

"It always will, I think about it all the time. On our wedding day, as your walked towards me looking like this incredible angel, all I could think of was that I could have lost you and that if I hadn't been so lucky, none of what we have experienced together would ever have happened." Troy kissed Gabriella's lips, this time sitting up slightly and so that he could comfortably rest his forehead against hers and brush his nose lovingly with hers.

Their wedding day had been beautiful, and if Gabriella was honest she too had thought about Seth and the attack that day. She was thinking that if it hadn't have happened, maybe she and Troy would never have got the chance to be together and to discover how great their relationship could be. She realized that they had both been thankful for things that day, and without realizing it, they had both been thankful for the exact same thing.

Each other.

"I love you," Gabriella whispered, snuggling herself back into Troy's arms and allowing the worries that had been plaguing her mind to drift away and she allowed sleep overcome her.

Troy sighed as Gabriella drifted in and out of consciousness, he made a mental note to call Logan and talk to him about the unexpected news Gabriella had given him just minutes earlier. He was mad that Logan's mistakes had put doubts in Gabriella's mind about their relationship, but a part of him couldn't be mad at the friend who had appeared to be so supportive.

"I love you too Beautiful. I'm always going to be here, don't you ever worry about me leaving." He whispered, pressing a kiss into her long curly hair before settling his head back down on the pillow and drifting off into a somewhat restless sleep.

~TG~

Sunday morning found Troy working hard in the office he had created for himself and Gabriella in a small unused room of their large house. He supposed that it would have originally been a bedroom but with five large sized bedrooms for themselves and the children, Troy and Gabriella had decided to make use of this one in another way.

Gabriella had painted the walls a cool pale green, a color that she felt allowed her to feel calm and relaxed while she ploughed through her work, and Troy had to agree.

The large window overlooked the whole garden and the rolling hills that surrounded their beautiful home in San Rafael, just north of San Francisco.

Troy worked five days a week, two days were spent at the Ocean Sciences research lab at UC Berkeley where he made up an important part of the research team, two were spent teaching at UC Berkeley, and on Fridays he taught a special AP Ocean Biology class at San Rafael High School for students that excelled in sciences and were interested in perusing Ocean Sciences once they graduated high school. Troy loved his job, he loved that he had made his interest an amazing career and he loved that it brought their family enough money to live more than comfortably.

He stopped typing briefly and glanced out of the large window, watching as Gabriella splashed around in the pool with their children, keeping a firm grip on Toby as he kicked his legs eagerly in the water.

Troy had incredible respect and admiration for Gabriella, not only has she endured childbirth four times to give him such beautiful babies, but she had given up working full time in a job that she loved to take care of the girls and Toby as they grew up. Now, she worked part time as a partner in one of San Francisco's top law firms, working alongside a long time friend and colleague Penelope, with whom she had attended Stanford.

Her dedication to her work never ceased to amaze him, despite being endlessly busy at home raising their children and being an incredible mother, she managed to work hard on all of the cases sent her way and had gained hundreds of clients through word of mouth.

The situation with their friends Mona and Logan had made him realize he didn't often let her know how much he appreciated her, respected her and supported her. It had been Logan's downfall that he hadn't supported his wife and Troy was not about to let the same thing happen to his relationship. Gabriella had tirelessly done everything she could to make sure Troy had a good life, the fact that, even with Troy's amazing salary, she was still working proved to Troy that she too wanted to provide for them and the children they had created together.

She and the children were his world, it may have appeared on the outside to be a small world, but it was his world and there was nothing in life that he wanted more than to share life with his Gabriella, his three beautifully cute daughters and his perfect son.

"Look at how much fun you're having out here without me!" Troy called as he walked into the yard, causing Gabriella and their four children to turn around to see where the voice had come from.

Seconds later, Maisie and Matilda had pulled themselves from the pool and we're running full speed towards Troy, giggling wildly as they ran into him and knocked him down to the floor in a heap of girlie giggles.

Gabriella laughed and shook her head, lifting little Megan up onto the side of the pool so she too could join in the giggling heap with her sisters.

"What will we do with them all, huh? At least I have one clam child." Gabriella chuckled to Toby who couldn't care less about running to his father, more interested in continuing to splash around in the warm water.

Toby had never been an overexcited child; he didn't often cry and almost never had tantrums. Much like his mother, he took life as it came and just rolled with whatever came his way. It meant that his sisters regularly dressed him up like a girl, tried to style his hair and give him make overs; at first Gabriella had worried that Toby would lash out for being used as a real life doll, but now she just chuckled when the girls paraded their brother downstairs to show her how pretty he was.

Placing Toby on the side of the pool safely, Gabriella pulled herself out of the water and holding onto Toby's hand, made her way over to Troy and the girls.

"Come on excitables, it's bath time and then it will be bedtime." Gabriella spoke in her motherly voice and she watched her three daughters wriggle out of their father's arms and skip into the house.

Gabriella had always been thankful that their children were so well behaved. Even as babies, none of their four children had ever excessively cried, they very rarely had tantrums and they obediently followed every one of their parent's requests. Troy was sure it all came from Gabriella, they had never consciously taught them to be well behaved, but Troy knew that it was Gabriella's natural politeness that had made them that way.

Bedtime was very organized in the Bolton household, with the duties being split between Troy and Gabriella. This had loosely been dictated by the children, Gabriella would help them into pajamas and to brush their teeth, and Troy would read them a bedtime story and settle them all down.

When Troy was away on business it was difficult for Gabriella, the girls especially were particular about Troy reading them their bedtime story and they found it difficult that sometimes Gabriella would have to do it. They had never cried about it and they had never thrown tantrums over it, but Gabriella could just see they were disappointed that Troy wasn't there to do it.

With all of the girls bathed, in pajamas and with their teeth brushed it was time for Gabriella to hang back and let Troy take over. She often used this time to tidy the room that she shared with Troy, she had always hated untidy bedrooms and enjoyed that their bedroom was more often than not, completely neat and tidy.

Fifteen minutes later Gabriella crept towards the bedroom of her youngest daughter, peering through the door she watched as Troy smoothed Megan's hair lovingly as he finished the very last page of Beauty and the Beast.

He whispered the final words before pressing a gently kiss against the sleeping girls forehead, brushing her dark curls from her face before pulling up the covers to keep her warm.

The scene almost brought tears to Gabriella's eyes, no matter how many times she wanted Troy with the children; she couldn't believe how lucky she was. She had a man, who adored her and the children they had made together and who loved them all unconditionally.

She'd experienced a lot in her life, some things good and some things bad, but she couldn't think of a single day that she wouldn't live again because she knew that each one of those days had led her to Troy.

She was often overwhelmed by how her life had turned out. Not many women can say they are living the life they always dreamed of having, but despite all of the horrible things that happened to her, as Gabriella looked around her all she could see was everything she had dreamed of having.

"I love you so much," Gabriella whispered as Troy walked out of Megan's bedroom and approached her, wrapping his arms around her tightly when he saw the tears glistening in her eyes. "I love you so much that I can even explain it, and it's stupid because you know all of this but I just never imagined my life would be like this." Gabriella was right, Troy already knew all of this but he never tired of hearing his wife telling him how much she loved him.

He ran his fingers through Gabriella's long curls and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. He too was living the life that he had always dreamt of and when he thought he couldn't possibly love his family anymore, he would wake up the next day having fallen ten times more in love.

"I love you too," Troy whispered softly.

No other words were required, life was perfect and it was going to stay that way.

~TG~

'_Thirteen, I've got brand new eyes_

_Fourteen, everything's a surprise_

_Fifteen, not a day that I regret_

_Love is endless' _~ Mozella – Love is endless

~TG~

**So there you have it officially completed! I hope you liked this little oneshot and the insight into their future. I love when I finish a story know it was happily ever after and I hope that you do too! Let me know what you though, I always appreciate reading your views and look out for more from me really soon! **


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